If I'm such a hardcore Atheist, then why am I afraid of GHOSTS??

I'll tell you why... Ghost Hunters on SciFi Channel and Paranormal State on A&E scare the CRAP outta me!!! LOL!! I'm not lying... I love those shows!!

But for real... the existence of ghosts/spirits/residual 'energies' after you die defy my perception of the human existence. I think most Atheists agree that we are nothing but a small step up from chimps and the fact that we cry when someone else cries does not make us leaders of the Universe! Just because you perceive your emotions a profround and earth moving, at times, does not mean that your existence permeates space and time. It's just neurotranmitters and synapses... nothing more. The same thing can be found in your pet dog's gray matter (I heard about a study on Calling All Pets on NPR that dogs have similar neurotransmitters and receptors in their brains as us). Just because we have cognition doesn't make us special enough to float around after we're dead and rotted and interact with our loved ones (who will also be dead one day).

The next time you pass by the dead squirell at the end of your street that has been there for a few days, realize that WILL be you and it WILL be too soon whether it's tomorrow or 80 years from now. All of a sudden that TV show you're watching doesn't seem that interesting, and that 99 cent hamburger seems like a complete waste of your precious time to choke down. I'd get a steak instead, and enjoy it while I can.

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That damn cognition. You are right, that is the only difference between us and animals. Ohh and fur, feathers, flight, gills, incredible agility, amazing color changing abilities, and I could go on. Wow if I believed in God I would think we were being punished!!!!!!

I know a woman who ought to approach Randi.She insists she often sees ghost and occasionally drives her car thru a non existant tunnel.I told her about Randi's million but warned her she'd have to scientifically prove those things to be true.She thinks she can.She runs a beauty shop in the building I work in.

The human brain still largely operates with what our prehuman animal ancestors relied on, the subconscious, which isn't a very logical part of our thought process. It is like our phobias which we know are unreasonable, but it is sometimes too powerful to overcome. I think this is the same problem why religion is so hard to overcome as well. At least you are aware that what you are perceiving isn't exactly right.

Thanks for the post. I'm new to "forum" type interaction, so please bear with me. Can anyone explain why even many atheists sincerely believe that there is a "mystery" about whether there is life after death?

Awww... man, how I hate arguments like this. It feeds the fundies, and other goobers who think there is some chance, however remote, that dead doesn't really mean dead, hence they will seize on that and never support the idea of defeating death by our own minds and technology. No, there is no chance that there is life after death, none, zip, zilch, nada, and no that is not blind faith or religion, it is simple biological fact.